[1987-12-11-AJPW] Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy

[Superstar Sleeze]

Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy - AJPW 12/11/87

Tenryu & Hara are the current PWF World Tag Team Champions but the titles are not on the line as this the Real World Tag League. 

I am going to do this stream of consciousness style to save some time as I want to get to bed before midnight:

Hansen & Gordy won their match over Jumbo & Yatsu via countout after Hansen creamed Yatsu with a Lariat out of nowhere. I skipped Tenryu & Hara vs Jumbo & Yatsu for now because I am in a Hansen groove. Joe Higuchi in his powder blue referee outfit looking snazzy as fuck. Hansen and Hara to start. Hansen a little more subdued than usual. They jockey for position standing up. Hansen with the sledge on an unclean break. They trade overhand chops. Hansen and Hara two big uglies tussling and end up in the ropes. Hansen grabs a headlock, shot of wins the shoulder tackle battle and tags in Gordy. Hansen doesnt leave right away more intimidation. Gordy and Hara, Hara grabs headlock and pulls Gordy into his corner. Tenryu tags in. Hansen starts hollering, but Tenryu cant take advantage. Tenryu takes a swing at Hansen on the apron. Melee ensues as Hansen takes exception to that. Gordy restrains Tenryu and Hansen gets his licks in. Hansen terrorize s the outside. Gordy bowls Tenryu over with a shoulder tackle. I love how chippy that was. Hansen and Tenryu bring that edge to their interaction that Hansen and Jumbo are missing. Tenryu can be as much of a miserable son of a bitch as Hansen and I think that helps their dynamic. That scrap was the best thing so far. Hansen in and grabs a tight side headlock. I like how noisy Hansen is. He sounds like he is trying to pop Tenryu's head like a zip. Love him hollering at the ref. Tenryu shoots him off but Hansen wins the shouldertackle. Awkward moment on the criss cross with them staring off. Hansen tags out but not before yelling some more. God bless him!

Gordy and Hara. Hara gets three overhand chops before Gordy starts firing back. So far a strong Hansen performance as expected and cool shoot-y brawl other than that not much. Gordy tags out after a nothing sequence with Hara. Hansen and Hara jockeying for wrist control. Hansen wins. Hansen wrenches the arm around the top rope and we have a focal point now. Hansen bringing the energy and the structure to the match. Gordy grabs and armbar and I go to correct my spelling mistakes. Hara gets up and throws Gordy off. Single leg and dumps Gordy on his ass. Classic Gordy bump. Tenryu tags in and mean Mack Truck Lariat. Shoots Hara in for a Lariat on Gordy. Hara loves to headbutt and we get some on Gordy. Hara brings Gordy over to Tenryu and then Tenryu figure-4s the head. Not a lot of effort from the others here. Where was the struggle on that Gordy? Gordy gets on his belly and converts the hold into a Scorpion Deathlock almost but Hara stops him. Hansen has had enough of this boring inaction and comes in and bodyslams Tenryu. Big Gordy jumping elbow. Hansen comes in all piss & vinegar hard bone on bone and then chinlock city. It looks fierce but this match needed more action less of this. Are they going to a 30 minute draw. Seems unlikely unless Jumbo/Yatsu are the ones that win the Real World Tag League but this kinda feels like a draw. 

Gordy Fireman's Carry but falls away with it. Nice move. Gordy takes his sweet time pulling Tenryu into abdominal stretch. Tenryu hiptosses out but Gordy charges and nails a Lariat in the corner and whips Tenryu hard into the buckles. Hansen tags back in. Double suplex on Tenryu. Big one. Nice. Surprised how much of a beating Tenryu is taking when Hara is right there. Hansen pitches him to the outside and pulls up the mat. PILEDRIVER ON THE EXPOSED FLOOR! Not much of a reaction. Hara pulls a Kobashi and throws his body on the fallen Tenryu! NICE! I dont have has much emotional investment in this match but I love that spot. The crowd is pretty dead for this. They have not given them much but that was a great sequence and I thought deserved a bigger reaction.  Hansen stomps on Hara and then takes a wild swing at photographer or official that was crazy. Higuchi throws Hansen back in the ring. Gordy holds Tenryu for Hansen to take free shots. Those kicks were wicked! Right to the head! I would not want to have my head exposed to half-blind Hansen's kicks. Snapmare, exposed knee (a Hansen staple) by Hansen to the head and he throws up the Horns and Bellows! Hara saves. Hansen tags out. Gordy drives Tenryu's head hard into the buckles. Tenryu's head has taken a beating. Gordy does that weird dance/stomp thing he does. Tenryu has a trickle of blood coming down his head. This has been a beating. Hansen drags him to his lair. He lays Tenryu down on the table prone and just dribbles his head on the table like a basketball. Hara saves but the damage is done. I wonder if Hansen had seen the blood and wanted to open him up more because back in the ring. Hansen tees off. He pounds way on the cut and delivers a big over the top elbow right to the cut. Tenryu is taking a beating of a lifetime. Hansen covers for two. Gordy elbow to the head for two. Gordy back drop driver and Tenryu does a Gordy style sell of it, ass over tea kettle for two. Gordy talks some smack to Hara but takes his eye off the prize in a cool moment Hansen tries to intercept because he can see what will happen before anyone else. Tenryu throws an enziguiri and Hansen is a second too late as he shoves Tenryu midair but Tenryu lands the enziguiri. That was awesome. Tenryu is able to tag out. Hara comes in and TRUCKS Gordy with a lariat. Headbutts. Bowls him over. Again. 1-2-No. Tags Tenryu back in. Seems early. Double Shouldertackle sends Gordy careening to his corner and tag to Hansen. Poor tag team strategy there. Tenryu may have not tagged in as it is Hara and Hansen. Hara lays it into Hansen. Hansen charges and rams his shoulder into the buckles and goes over the top to the floor. Tenryu exacts his revenge throwing Hansen hard into metal objects. Hara gets two on Hansen. Hara big Back Drop Driver on Hansen for two. Tags out to Tenryu. Lariat Sandwich! That was the move that did Jumbo in over the Summer where the ref had to call the bell for excessive double teaming. Cowboy Kick by Tenryu on the Cowboy himself. Double suplex on the might Hansen. Hara gets two. Hansen looks worse for wear. Tenryu Enziguiri great punch drunk Hansen sell leading to the collapse. Tenryu drops multiple elbows. As this drags on, it looks more and more likely it is a draw finish. 

Tenryu Enziguiri for two. Octopus Stretch by Tenryu and Gordy break that up with stiff right. Tenryu tries again, Gordy be damned. Gordy does not come in this time. Hara blocks Gordy with a lariat as Tenryu settles for a more conventional abdominal stretch. I think the crowd is chanting for Hansen?!?!? I know the Japanese love an underdog but thats crazy. Hara blocks Gordy repeatedly but Gordy brings in the bullrope and Hansen SMASHES Tenryu with cowbell as the ref is focused on Gordy and Hara. Fuck you Japanese fans! Gordy crushes Hara and the American team looks in a good spot but Hansne desperately needs a tag. Hansne has to kick Tenryu away as their legs are still wrapped up. Gordy tags in. Gordy big crossboy for two! The crowd is on the Americans side it feels like. Big dropkick for two. Lariat for two! I guess being a native turncoat is worse than being a foreigner. Gordy is beside himself and Hansen looks fucked on the outside. Tenryu Enziguiri! Tenryu bodyslam...Reverse Top Rope Elbow misses to the delight of the crowd. Asiatic Spike!?!? No, piledriver but HARA SAVES AND BOWLS BOTH MEN OUT! Tenryu Octopus on the outside. Hansen was winding up for Lariat when Hara dives off apron Hansen is looking to Pull trigger but Tenryu ENZIGUIRI. Tenryu beats the count. Gordy suplexes Tenryu no, Tenryu gets the Abdominal Stretch. Hansen is in the background sitting, LOCK N LOAD; HANSEN EXPLODES WITH THE LARIAT TO BACK OF TENRYU'S HEAD! Hansne is spent. Double countout. 

I loved the shot of Tenryu's Abdominal Stretch with Hansen sitting down and signaling for the Lariat. Look straight out of a horror movie. At 28 minutes and change this match was way too long. Shave off ten minutes and you have a great match easy. It felt like it was going to go to draw but the pull up 1.5 minutes short with the double countout. Hansen is fucking awesome in this match. Hansen/ Tenryu scrap the beginning is great. The piledriver on the floor/Hara throws his body on Tenryu was awesome. Loved Hansen treating Tenryu's head like a basketball on the table and then just mercilessly attacking the cut. I like how Hansen gets his comeuppance after an errant shouldertackle to the buckles. Tenryu beats the shit out of him and the abdominal stretch was wicked hot. The cowbell was awesome, loved Gordy's finish run and then Hansen having one last round in his gun and finally firing it off. There was just too much fat and dead air in the beginning for this to be considered great, but when it was hot it was hot. ***1/2